Broken Promises
by x FallingAshes x
Summary: Framed for a crime she didn't commit, Annabeth Chase is exiled from Camp Half-Blood. Broken and betrayed, she becomes the bad girl that nobody thought she had in her. Cold as ice and hard as steel, she thinks she has the game all figured out. But when fate brings her back to a certain green-eyed boy that she never thought she'd see again, the rules are about to change.
1. The Beginning of The End

**Before we get started:**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own PJO. **

***COLLECTIVE GASP***

**Me: YES! I ADMIT IT! PJO IS NOT MINE! *wails in agony***

**Percy: Drama queen...**

* * *

I frowned at the words on my page. Reading was not an easy thing to do when you had dyslexia. I hardly ever read mortal books, for this very reason, but this was a particularly good book on modern architecture, written by ***INSERT NAME HERE*, **who was only the most famous architect ever.

The words swam before my eyes, turning circles and flipping backwards. Giving up, I set it down, leaning back against the cool bark of a tree. Stars shimmered in the night sky, and almost on instinct, I rested my eyes on the Constellation that was Zoe's. I probably shouldn't be out in the woods this time of night, but I couldn't sleep, and I just needed some fresh air to clear my head.

I could have gone to Percy, of course. That's what I usually did. But when I lifted my hand up to knock on his cabin door, the loudest snore that I had ever heard rumbled out from inside. Cracking the door open an inch, I had seen him lying face-down on the bed, his blanket twisted around his legs. With a small smile, I had decided to leave him alone. He deserved a rest, after all. Gaea and the giants had finally been defeated(mostly thanks to Percy) and for once, we had peace stretching before us, no Great Prophecies to worry us.

I let out a small yawn, then decided it was time to head back in. Something growled in the darkness behind me, and I quickly grabbed my jacket and hurried away from it.

I was almost to the edge of the woods when I realized something was wrong.

Lights flickered ahead of me, red and orange and yellow. It was suddenly hot. Smoke buffeted my nostrils. Somebody screamed.

I broke through the edge of the trees.

The cabins were on fire.

The flames danced up into the sky, crackling and hissing as they burnt. People were screaming and streaming out of their cabins, looking around in disbelief. There were names being shouted and the Aphrodite girls were crying. Leo was standing near the campfire, his hair messy, still in his pajamas, trying to control the flames.

I knew it was selfish, but my heart lurched. Percy. Where was Percy? A quick glance told me that the Poseidon cabin was also on fire. Was that possible? Could water burn?

I took a step forwards, and my foot banged into something. I bent down. It was an empty can of gasoline. Of course. This hadn't been an accident. The cabins of the Gods don't just set fire to themselves.

I picked it up, weighing it in my hands. It was a large can. Perfect for carrying water. I had to do something to help.

I sprinted in the direction of the beach, swinging the gasoline can in my hand. I would do what I could to help put out the flames. The beach was eerily quiet compared to the scene down by the cabins. I was about to bend down and scoop up some water when I heard a cheer.

I turned around. There! Percy!

He was standing at the edge of the cabins, his hair tousled and his face covered with a thin layer of soot. His eyes burned with determination, and his hands were raised above his head. For a moment, I was confused, but then I saw it. A huge blob of water from the lake, floating up in the air.

Percy dropped his hands. Briefly, the blob of water hung in the air, suspended, and then it came crashing down. Water seemed to be everywhere, and the flames went out with a dramatic hiss. All was quiet.

"Yeah! Percy!" Jason went up to him and pounded Percy on the back. "Way to go!"

The Greeks cheered, and the Romans hesitated for a second, but then cheered as well. This camp might not be theirs, but it was also their home. The Greeks and the Romans pretty much shared our camps now, going back and forth between them.

"Annabeth?"

I blinked. I had been so busy watching the scene down by the cabins that I had forgotten what I was doing. Malcom was standing behind me, his eyes wide.

"Annabeth, why?" His voice was horrified.

"What?"

"Why?" He choked out.

"Why what?" I snapped, irritated.

"Why did you do it?"

I was about to open my mouth and demand to know what was going on when it dawned on me. I was standing down by the beach. Holding an empty can of gasoline. Looking like I was about to run away.

"Malcom," I almost laughed. "It's okay. Trust me, it's not what it looks like."

And then a box of matches fell out of my jacket.

* * *

"Annabeth Chase, did you, or did you not set fire to the cabins?"

I was seated at the ping-pong table. No. Wrong. I was tied to my damn seat. On 'trial.' The head councilors and the seven, minus Percy, all watched me warily. Chiron and Mr. D sat at the head of the table. Percy hadn't even been told about the fact that I was possibly the one who had burnt down the camp. He was probably off by the lake, wondering where everybody was.

"Like I said before, no, I did not." I replied tersely.

"Then what were you doing down by the beach?" Piper asked. I could see that she was desperately hoping that I would not be found guilty. She reached up a hand, brushing the golden ichor off the small burn on her forehead.

Yeah. You heard me. Golden ichor. The seven had been given immortality, the ultimate gift, after we defeated Gaea. Nico had been given it too. After all, he was just a much part of the quest as the rest of us. Also, if Nico didn't get immortality, Hades had threatened to throw one of his 'tantrums' and possibly cause another Depression.

"I told you, I picked up the can of gasoline and I wanted to get some water, to help put out the flames."

"Why didn't you go down to the lake?" Mr. D's voice was accusatory.

I threw up my hands. "I don't know! I guess I just felt like the beach."

"What about this, Annabeth?" Chiron gestured to the box of matches that sat on the table. Chiron's voice was gentle, and slightly sad, like he couldn't believe this was happening.

"I don't know. Really. I don't know how it got in my jacket. Maybe somebody put it there when I was reading."

"Sure they did, Annibelle." Mr. D _ harrumphed. _"Personally I don't really care much about this Camp Watchmacallit, but I still say Annibelle is guilty."

"I don't think Annabeth would ever do this to us," Nico said, his voice quiet.

"Nico-" Jason began.

"Listen!" I cut him off. "I don't care what you guys think happened, but honestly, I didn't do any of it! It hurts me that you have so little trust in me. I've been here for years and years, been with you through the Titan War and the Giant War, and you still accuse me of being a traitor? If I wanted to betray Camp Half-blood, then I could have joined Kronos years ago!"

"But the evidence-" Mr. D protested.

"I don't care about your Gods damn evidence!" I was nearly screaming. "I swear on the River Styx that I didn't do it!"

The whole room went dead silent. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Then it stopped. I was about to sit back down smugly, but then the ground started shaking. I had to grab on to the ping-pong table to keep from falling.

"Annabeth?" Nico's eyes were wide.

"Annabeth! What did you do?!" Chiron's usual calm was gone.

"I didn't do-"

Just then, the most horrible screech pierced my eardrums. The window of the Big House flew open with a bang. A giant, black shape barreled in, smashing straight into me. I wrestled with it for a moment, then managed to pry it off my chest.

It was an owl. Its feathers were dark as midnight, and it had deep, stormy gray eyes. Its beak gleamed silver, and when it opened its mouth, its tongue was bloodred.

"_Annabeth Chase," _It hissed. "_You are guilty."_

"Guilty?" I screamed at it. "What's wrong with you?!"

"_Guilty...guilty...guilty..." _Its voice faded away, and it vanished in a puff of black smoke. The ground stopped shaking.

Chiron got up slowly, on shaky legs. "Annabeth..." his voice was pained. "You did it. You burnt down the cabins."

* * *

Well. This sucks.

Angus, the multi-eyed blue security man, in case anyone needs a refresher, walked me to the edge of the border. Yes, I say walked, because I refused to be carried or pushed in any way.

After much debate, they had settled on exile for me. Mr. D suggested execution, but everyone agreed that it was too harsh. I might be immortal, but it was the limited, hunter kind, since Zeus refused to offer us full immortality again, after Percy had turned it down last time.

Festus raised his head curiously when I walked up beside him. He snorted happily when I patted his head.

"Goodbye, old pal."

Taking a deep breath, I turned to the border.

"Annabeth!"

I whirled around. It was Percy. My heart gave a painful squeeze. I hadn't anticipated on saying goodbye. Goodbyes made everything so much harder. Standing there, staring into Percy's sea-green eyes, I wanted to run into his arms and never let go.

Percy's eyes were wild, and he looked slightly hysterical. His face was still sooty, and he was running towards me.

Then, suddenly, Clarisse and Frank were there, restraining him.

"Let go of me!" He screamed. "Let go! She didn't do anything wrong! Annabeth!"

Now I knew why he hadn't been at my 'trial.'

"Hurry, Angus." Clarisse ordered. Her voice was tinged with sadness. I hadn't thought Clarisse even felt sadness. "We can't hold him forever."

True to their word, a giant wave was already building up in the ocean. Any second now, it would rush up and sweep Clarisse and Frank off their feet.

Angus gave me a shove.

"I can walk," I snapped.

I know what you're thinking. Annabeth Chase is just going to walk away, she's just going to leave without a fight?

The answer is yes. Yes, I am. Why?

Because the people here didn't want me anymore. After all that I'd done for them, everything I'd given up, they still didn't trust me enough to know that I would never betray them. They were the ones who had betrayed me.

I wouldn't stick around where nobody wanted me, where nobody trusted me.

I was going to leave, because my Fatal Flaw was pride. Whoever had set me up, whoever had framed me, they knew this. They knew that if everyone turned on me, I'd leave. Because I had too much pride to do otherwise.

"Annabeth! No!" Percy cried. "You're innocent! I know you are!"

I turned back, to look at Percy one last time. "I'm sorry, Seaweed Brain. I really am." Tears welled up in my eyes. "I love you."

And with that, I walked away, leaving behind everything and everyone that I had ever known.

* * *

**Awe /3... poor Percy**...

**I feel like a horrible person for doing this to him. And Annabeth.**

**Oh, well. At least they'll meet again...in a few decades.**

**REVIEW!**

**~BurningAngel**


	2. Chapter 1

**Thanks for all your reviews! Especially you, Percabeth1300. Your reviews always inspire me to update. :)**

* * *

I frowned at the clock. He was late.

With a sigh, I swirled my straw absently through my cocktail. Yes, I know, I know. I'm nineteen. But only on the outside. I've been nineteen for a pretty long time. A decade, at the least. Probably more. I haven't really been keeping track. Time doesn't mean much when you're immortal.

But that doesn't mean I'm patient. I glanced at the clock. Five minutes past the designated time.

A man walked into the bar and I straightened, startled. No. It couldn't be. The man was well built, maybe in his early twenties. He looked perfect. Too perfect. Like a blonde superman.

It couldn't be. Jason Grace couldn't possibly be here.

No. Nevermind. I let out a sigh of relief. The man didn't have Jason's scar. I didn't know what I was so worried about, anyway. Even if Jason _was _here, he wouldn't recognize me. My hair was dyed a dark brown, almost black. I was wearing amber contacts. I had covered up the girl that was Annabeth. I had left her behind when I walked away from Camp Half-Blood.

I checked the clock again, getting annoyed. Ten minutes past the designated time. Okay, that's it. I don't wait for my clients.

I stood up, smoothing out my strapless, black dress. It poofed out just enough at the bottom to hide the dagger and the knife strapped to my thigh. The knife, for mortals. The dagger, for everything else.

I was about to leave my table when a man hurried through the bar doors. He looked to be in the mid-thirties, short and slightly plump. His dark hair was combed back, and he was wearing an expensive-looking velvet suit. He caught my eye and gave a slight nod.

With a sigh, I sat back down, rolling my eyes. I didn't like it when people made me wait.

The man slid into his seat, directly across from me.

"You're late." I sounded irritated.

"I'm sorry." The man appraised me. "I didn't anticipate the amount of traffic there'd be."

"Well, you should have used your head," I snapped. "It's rush hour."

"I'm sorry," The man repeated.

"I don't like to be kept waiting."

"It won't happen again."

"I certainly hope not."

The man paused, cocking his head to the side. "So, you're the famous Emilie Night."

"I prefer Em." I smiled a bit, remembering my first job. It was only when my client asked me for my name that I realized I couldn't keep going by Annabeth Chase. I had looked over his shoulder, and there it was, Emilie's Night Club. Boom. I had a name.

"Quite a job you have there, Em, for such a pretty lady."

"I assure you, I can kill just as well as any man."

"I wasn't accusing you of inadequecy."

"Then, what?"

The man smiled. "Just pointing out that you are a very beautiful woman."

"Thanks, but I know that already." I gave him a small, seductive smile.

The man gave a small cough, then pulled an envelope out of his suit jacket. "Your payment."

I weighed it in my hand. "A little light, don't you think? Considering that you've kept me waiting..." I batted my eyelashes.

"I'll add on two grand to the final payment, after the job's done."

"Five." I tucked the envelope into my dress.

"Three fifty."

I shrugged. "Done."

The man handed me another envelope, with my target's details, and then I nodded at him and left, leaving my half-finished cocktail on the table.

I headed out into the night, the wind ruffling my cropped hair. My black Mustang waited for me in the parking lot. I usually traveled by motorcycle, but I was wearing a dress today, so that called for a more conventional method of travel.

And just in case you're wondering what my job is, I guess you could say that I don't really have a specific _job._ It was pretty much just any kind of shady buisness, really. Mostly assasinations.

Not that I didn't have standards. No drugs. No killing children or elderly. And I always do a through background check on my targets. I don't kill the innocent.

The gangs behind the bar gave me a wide bearth, not meeting my eyes as I passed them. Their leader had challenged me a while back. Didn't end well.

There wasn't much going on in my life nowadays, really. Just stupid, mortal affairs. I needed them, for money, and a place to live, but now and then I miss the past. Especially...I didn't let myself think his name. He had betrayed me as well, in the end. I had expected him to come looking for me, or, at the least, an Iris message. But nope. Nothing.

With a sigh, I plopped into my Mustang, heading back to my flat.

* * *

_Beep. Beep Beep. Beeee-_

I smashed my alarm clock into the wall. I know, harsh. But really. The piece of crap woke me up almost a whole hour late. It was almost midnight, and I was supposed to be at my target's house by then.

Cursing in Ancient Greek, I pulled on a pair of black jeans, and then rummaged through my closet for my black hoodie. I hurried to the bathroom, sticking a toothbrush in my mouth. I had to have nice, minty breath when I ended my target's life. This one was a scammer. He'd cheated over a million families out of their money, and he'd killed quite a few people, too. He deserved what was coming to him.

I was pulling a brush through my hair when my phone rang. I spat into the sink, then grabbed it off of my nightstand. _Unknown Number, _it informed me.

"Hello?" I put it to my ear, still brushing with the other hand.

"Hello, Em?"

It was my client. "What do you want?"

"Well, uh..."

"Spit it out."

There was an awkward throat-clearing on the other end. "I don't need you for the job anymore."

I stopped brushing my hair. "What?"

"Well, there's a new guy in town. His prices are much cheaper."

"A new guy." My voice was flat.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry."

"What's his name?"

"Sorry, Em. I can't have you going to kill him."

"_What's his-"_

The line clicked. I swore. He hung up on me. _He hung up on me._

* * *

I paced back and forth, the phone to my ear. _Please pick up, pease pick up, _I silently begged.

"Hello?" A girl's voice came from the phone.

"Hey, Liz?" I sighed in relief. "You'll never guess what just happened."

"No, probably not."

I laughed. Good old Liz. "Well...my client just hung up on me."

_"_He did_ what? _Em, do you want me to go assasinate this guy for you?"

"No. Not yet, anyway."

"I'm listening."

"So, apparently, there's a new guy in town. His prices are like, _cheaper," _I made air quotations, even though I knew Liz couldn't see me. "And he's taking my clients. I just got like, three texts, telling me they don't need me anymore."

"Who is this guy?"

"That's just the thing. I don't know."

There was a pause on the other end. "I'll be over right away. Whoever he is, we'll show him what happens when he steals my best friend's clients."

I smiled. "Thanks, Liz."

I set my phone back down, already feeling a lot better. Liz was my lifesaver, pretty much. We'd gone through everything together. She found me wandering around the city, and showed me the other side of the bright, happy city days. She was the only reason that I managed to make enough money to get my own flat, and not get eaten by monsters on the streets. She might be mortal, but she was still my best friend.

Of course, she'll get old, but I'd cross that bridge when I got to it.

The doorbell dinged three times. Liz was here. I smiled. When she said _right away, _she meant it.

We were going to find out who was stealing my clients.

And they were going to be sorry they ever messed with Emilie Night.

* * *

**I bet you all can guess who's stealing her clients...*hint hint***

**Anyways, what do you guys think so far? Should I write longer chapters? Please review. I'd appreciate it. :) Any ideas you have would also be helpful.**

**And also, check out my other story, Second Chance. It has 4 chapters, so you'll actually be able to read it for a while.**

**~BurningAngel**


	3. Chapter 2

**I love you all! 22 reviews for two chapters...that's amazing! :)**

**I don't think I did this last chapter, so...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO...yet...**

**Percy: What?**

**Me: Still waiting to hear back from...ah...my friends...who have gone to show Rick Riordan their, uh...gun collection...**

* * *

"So, what's the plan?" I eyed Liz. She had her usual don't-disrupt-me-I'm-thinking look on her face.

"Shh." Liz held a finger up to her chin thoughtfully. "I think I know how you're going to find this guy."

"Yes?" I leaned forwards, eager. Liz grinned at me, and once again, I had a pang of recognition. She had light gray eyes that, even though they were a totally different shade than my gray eyes, still reminded me of myself and my old life.

"So, the job tonight...he took that, right?" Liz twirled her black hair in her fingers, pulling slightly on her ponytail.

"Don't remind me."

"That's just the thing!" Liz sat back, satisfied. "You know exactly where the job is. Exactly who the target is. And he has the same job, the same target. So if you go to the target and wait there..."

"Then he's bound to show up eventually!" I clapped my hands together, laughing. "Liz, you're a genius."

Liz grinned. "I know."

* * *

I made a face at yet another old lady who frowned at me as I breezed past her. Okay, I get it, my driving is reckless, but I really didn't have much patience. Besides, I had never even gotten a single ticket in my life, so I think that speaks for itself.

I glared at the tiny Toyota in front of me. It was crawling at what was probably 20 miles per hour, maybe even less. At this rate, the job would already be done by the time I got there.

There was a surprising amount of traffic for nearly midnight, and the lanes next to me were completely filled. This was one of those times when I wished that I was on my motorcycle. But, then again, it would announce my presence to everyone in the world, which really wouldn't help me much.

Finally, a small space opened up in the lane on my right, and I swerved into it, tires squealing. The car behind me honked its horn, and I heard the driver yell several obscenities. I just laughed and committed a u-turn that was probably illegal, turning myself onto a small, narrow side road.

"What are you?! Drunk?!" The driver passing me yelled through his window.

"Nah, just crazy," I told him, my retort probably getting lost in the wind.

I drove along the road, my car tires protesting as it crunched along the gravel. For a millionaire, this guy had a horrible driveway. Horrible, for one, and also extremely long. It seemed to take ages for me to finally see the outline of a shadowy estate in the distance.

I turned sharply, then parked my black Mustang on the grass, out of sight of the road. Getting out, I committed a through weapons check, making sure I was well armed. Then, I headed towards the estate, making sure to stay in the shadow of the trees.

The estate was quiet, all the lights out. I assumed that whoever was inside was either fast asleep, or already dead. I hoped for the former.

My footsteps barely making a sound, I made my way to the back of the house, squinting as I looked up at the roof. The obvious way in was the back door, and I figured, hey, why not? It sure would be a hell of a lot easier than climbing up to the second story windows.

It only took me a second to jimmy a bobby pin in the lock, and hear the telltale click of the door opening. Tucking the pin back into my ponytail, I checked to make sure that the door didn't squeak, then carefully made my way inside.

The estate was _huge, _to say the least. Even shrouded in darkness, it looked fancy and elegant. I would've probably stared at it for a while, but just then, the lock on the front door started clicking.

I swore. He was coming. I glared at the door. Who the Hades went through the front door, anyway?

I took the stairs two at a time, muffling my footsteps on the long red carpet that ran all the way down the center of the staircase. Just as I made it to the top, I heard the door open.

I ducked inside the nearest bedroom, taking a look around while I was at it. _Of course _it had to be the very one the target was in. With an exasperated sigh, I crawled behind the bed. He really wouldn't have any need to look behind the bed. I hoped.

I heard the soft whisper of footsteps, so quiet that it could only be someone who did this for a living. The bedroom door opened, brushing softly against the floor. I held my breath, peeking out slightly to see the figure heading towards the bed.

He was male, that much was obvious, and expected. You don't see many females doing my job. He was wearing all black, black sneakers, black cargo pants, and a big, black hoodie, the hood pulled up to conceal his face. I couldn't help but have a sense of deja vu. The way he walked, the way he held himself...it was remotely familiar.

He towered over the bed, looking down at the target. With a quick flick of his wrist, he pulled out a long dagger, moonlight glinting off of it. Slowly, almost hesitantly, he put the dagger to the throat of the target.

Okay, I had to give him this much. He was pretty good.

The target gasped. He seemed to be a light sleeper. The cold metal of the dagger must've woken him. I heard him pant for a second, whimpering.

"Who are you?" The target's voice sounded scared.

"Your worst nightmare," the man said.

I rolled my eyes. Melodramatic much.

"What about my alarm system?" The target demanded. "I-oh. I forgot to put it up. God damn it."

"Oh, don't worry," the man said cheerfully. I had another flash of deja vu. I could swear I knew that voice. "Even if it was up, I would've gotten you anyways."

"Please," the target managed. He was onto the begging stage. I knew the target stages pretty well. Disbelief, begging, threats, and finally, anger.

"Please what?"

"Please don't kill me. I'll be a good person from now on, if you just let me go. Please."

"I'm not even going to pretend to think about that offer."

"Please!" The target gasped. "I'll give you anything you want. Money, cars, I have it all. If you spare my life, I'll give you anything."

"I don't want your money. It's all stolen, anyway."

"You'd better let me go," the target growled darkly, "or my people will come after you. They'll kill you. I know they will."

"I'm not afraid of your people," the man laughed.

"You should be."

The man looked amused. "Oh, please. I'm not afraid of _mortals_."

The way he said it sent a shiver down my spine.

"You'd better let me go!" The target was shouting. "I swear to God-"

He cut off with an abrupt gurgle, the man stabbing his dagger through the target's throat. The man gave a short sigh, then looked over the target's body one last time and turned to go.

I almost let him walk out the door before I remembered what I was here for. With a muttered curse in Ancient Greek, I got up from behind the bed, my movements swift and silent. I was almost to the man when he whirled around. I caught a brief flash of surprise on his face before his hood covered it again. I didn't have time to contemplate how familiar he looked before I had slammed him against the wall, my knife against his throat.

The man fumbled, dropping the dagger that he had just pulled out. He cursed in Ancient Greek as it clattered to his feet, and I frowned at him.

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded.

"I could ask the same thing." The man sounded slightly amused.

"You aren't exactly in a position to be sarcastic right now," I warned.

The man snorted. "What? Are you going to stab me with your knife?"

"It's looking awfully tempting right now."

"Go ahead. Try."

He sounded so sure, so confident that he almost had me convinced that he was not scared of me stabbing his throat out.

"I don't want you dead," I growled. "Just tell me who you are."

"Well, I have a lot of names..."

"Tell me who you are," I repeated, clearly pronouncing each syllable. "Your real name."

"My full name?"

I leaned in, dangerously close to him. I pressed my knife to his throat, perhaps a little too hard, but it would do him some good to see his blood. For a second, I was convinced that he was immortal or something, but then red blood welled out of a thin cut on his neck.

"Ha," I smiled, looking at him from beneath my lashes. "So you _can _die, after all."

The man was about to reply, but then I leaned back, and my forehead brushed against his hood. It fell back, revealing his face, and I almost turned and ran right then and there.

For what it was worth, I stayed, but I couldn't stop the startled gasp that hissed through my teeth.

The man's face hit me like a slap to the face. The same gorgeous face, high cheekbones, dark hair that fell into his eyes. His eyes. Eyes that were permanently burned into my memory, eyes that I dreamed about every night. Those beautiful, sea green eyes.

He hadn't changed one bit. That same face that I knew every groove and curve of, that same face that I had kissed and traced a thousand times.

He gave me a lazy half-smile. "Do I look familiar to you? 'Cause I could swear I know you."

In that moment, I thanked Zeus over and over again that my hair was dyed and that I was wearing contacts.

He raised a single eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

Startled, I realized that my grip on my knife had gotten uncomfortably tight. My knuckles were starting to turn white. With some effort, I loosened my fingers.

"I'm fine," I snapped. Or rather, tried to snap. My voice gave an uncharacteristic tremble at the end. "Just tell me your name. Now. Or I swear to the Gods - shit, I mean, I swear to God that I will _kill _you."

He raised an eyebrow. "Gods?"

"_Now._"

He held up his hands defensively. "Don't know why you care so much, but fine. My name's Percy. Percy Jackson."

The world seemed to tilt around me. My head spun, and suddenly I felt nauseated. I was frozen, unable to move for a second, and then I turned and sprinted out the bedroom door, down the stairs, anything, anything to get away from the boy that I thought I was done with.

"Hey!" Percy Jackson called after me. "Where are you going? You never told me your name!"

_No, no, no. This couldn't be happening. Couldn't be happening._

It took me three tries to jam my keys into the ignition, and then I was racing down the street, away from the estate, my hands shaking on the steering wheel. The speed that I was going at would probably have given any sane person a heart attack, but frankly, I really didn't care. It would make things a lot easier if I smashed myself into a tree and died.

A thousand questions spun through my mind, a thousand questions that I tried to stomp down and forget about. What in Hades was Percy doing in New York? And as an assassin, no less. Loyal, friendly Percy was the last person that I expected to become an assassin. But that was just the thing. He had changed. He was different, more sarcastic and self-confident. What had happened to him?

But all of these questions took a back seat to Percy's voice, echoing over and over in my head, like a broken record.

_My name's Percy. Percy Jackson. Percy Jackson. Percy Jackson. Percy Jackson._

How did I ever run into him again, after doing my best to stay away and leave my old life far, far behind?

_Percy Jackson. Percy Jackson. Percy Jackson._

He was here. The boy who I had once loved. The boy who had let me go, let me leave, told me that he loved me too, but then had never even bothered to send me an Iris message after I was gone.

_Percy Jackson. Percy Jackson._

The boy who had taken my heart and shattered it into a thousand pieces was _here._

_Percy Jackson._

* * *

**IT'S PERCY!**

***collective gasps of shock***

**No, I'm pretty sure we all knew that already. ;)**

**Anyway, thanks once again for all your support!**

**And don't forget to review(more reviews=faster updates)!**

**~BurningAngel**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! Sorry about taking so long to update, I had piano festival(its like a competition) and I had to practice.**

**Anyway, I'm back now. :)**

* * *

"Hey!" Liz waved her hand in front of my face, probably for the millionth time today. "Hello? Em? You there?"

"Yeah. Sorry." I shook my head, sighing. I couldn't stop zoning out, thinking about little tiny moments with Percy that I didn't even know I remembered.

"You okay?" Liz looked concerned. "You seem really out of it today. You're usually so focused."

"I'm alright. Really."

Liz narrowed her eyes, unconvinced. "What happened last night, Em? You won't talk about it..."

I was saved from answering as the door swung open, the little bell on the handle jingling. During the day, me and Liz worked at an ice cream shop. Yes, I know, I know. You wouldn't think that an assassin would be able to have a normal job like an ice cream shop worker, but it was a nice job. It didn't pay much, but I liked it. I mean, we couldn't be all dark and scary and sulk in our secret layers all day.

A little boy walked in, holding his mom's hand. His eyes widened when he saw the row of ice cream machines behind us. I smiled warmly at him, and he gave me a small, shy smile in return.

"See, Chris?" His mom gave me a smile as well. "I told you that you'd like it."

"Welcome to Ice Castle!" Liz gave them a bright, cheery grin. "I'm Lizzie, and that's Emma. How can we help you?"

"Go on." The little boy's mom pulled him forwards. "Tell them what you'd like."

"Um," The little boy stared up at us with his light brown eyes. "Do you have ice cream?"

Liz laughed. "You bet we do! Which kind would you like?"

"Chocolate." The boy exclaimed. "I love chocolate!"

"Well, we have Chocolate Banana, Chocolate Swirl, Triple Chocolate-"

"Triple Chocolate!" The boy grinned a big, toothy grin.

"Alright." Liz gave the boy a grin as well. "Coming right up!"

Liz moved behind the counter to work on the sundae, and I stepped up to the cash register, giving the little boy a smile. "That comes to three-eighty-two."

The boy's mom handed him a five dollar bill, then gave him a little push in my direction. "Go give Emma the money, Chris. And we should get a dollar and eighteen cents as change."

Chris walked over to me shyly, and I was reaching down to take the money when the shop door jingled, and another customer walked in.

One look at the customer, and I froze. He was dressed casually, in jeans and a white t-shirt, but it was unmistakably _him_. I could see a string necklace through his shirt, a row of clay beads threaded through it. Out of all the ice cream shops in New York, he had to come to this one? This was just insane. A coincidence beyond coincidences. But nonetheless, here he was.

"Shit," I muttered.

The little boy looked startled, and pulled his hand back quickly, not giving me the money. His mom gave me a stern glance.

Percy walked in, and for a brief moment, I considered diving down behind the counter. _Stop it_, I chastised myself. _You're Emilie Night. You're not going to hide because of some _guy. _Even if it i__s Percy Jackson_.

And then he looked up and saw me, and I regretted not diving down when I could.

For a second, he seemed to be in shock too, and then, slowly, a grin spread across his face. I felt insanely stupid in my pink _Ice Castle _apron and striped stockings. He was dressed like a male model, and here I was, looking like the witch from _Hansel and Gretel._

It wasn't until he was halfway across the shop that I realized that the boy and his mother had left. I felt a twinge of guilt, but it was gone the second Percy stepped up to the counter. I had to force myself to not stare at his sea-green eyes.

I considered telling him to get out, but that might be a little overboard.

"Can I help you?" My voice was frosty.

"You sure can, uh..." He looked down at my name tag, then smiled widely. "Emma."

"Do you want ice cream or not?" I snapped.

"I did want ice cream," he said. "But not anymore."

"Then get out."

"Emma? What's this I hear? Telling customers to get out?" Liz came up to the counter, carrying the Triple Chocolate ice cream. She was wearing a teasing grin, but when she saw Percy leaning against the counter, her grin faltered. "Uh, where's the little boy and his mom?"

"They left because I swore," I muttered, somewhat guiltily.

"I don't blame you," Liz said, eyeing Percy.

Percy, however, wasn't fazed. His grin only got wider. "So...what do you do for a living, Emma? Working in ice cream shops?"

Oh Gods, when did he become this obnoxious? "If you don't want ice cream, then get out."

"Okay, fine then." He glanced up briefly. "I'll have the Blue Blizzard."

I glared at him, and he smiled.

"That'll be five hundred dollars." I knew I was being immature, but I couldn't seem to stop.

Percy raised an eyebrow, but reached into his pocket. He pulled out a pack of gum, then a few quarters.

"That's not enough."

He signaled for me to wait, then pulled out a ballpoint pen. Riptide. I felt my throat get tight. I had to swallow down the urge to throw my arms around Percy's neck. He then dropped a couple of drachmas on the counter.

"We don't take foreign money," I said.

"Just wait," Percy said impatiently. Then, with a flourish, digging deep into his pocket, he pulled out a huge wad of bills, tied together by a rubber band. My eyes widened.

"So, you just keep random wads of cash in your pockets?"

"Yep." He tossed the bills at me. "A thousand bucks. Keep the change."

I caught it reflexively, then stared at it. "Where did you get all this money?"

Percy gave me a lopsided grin, then ran his finger very slowly over the cut on his neck. The cut that I had given him last night. "I think you know where, Emilie Night."

I stiffened. "What?"

"Oh, you know." He leaned in close. His lips were awfully close to mine. "The only female assassin in New York. Next to LizBeth, of course, but I'm assuming that's your friend there."

I slapped him.

"Ow!" He put a hand to his cheek, jumping back. "What was that for?"

"Being such a flirt." I crossed my arms over my chest. Did he do this to all the women he met nowadays? What had happened to the Percy who was shy and awkward around girls, the Percy who used to be clueless enough to earn the name Seaweed Brain? How many women had this Percy, this stranger, charmed? And what about me? Annabeth, I mean. Had he forgotten about me?

"Wow. Okay. Mental note. Don't flirt with Emilie Night."

"Don't call me that. It's Emma."

"Right." Percy took an exaggerated look around the shop. "Nice day job you have here, _Emma. _I wonder what came over your manager to hire a girl like you to sell ice cream to little children?"

I ignored him, glaring at the floor. The longer he kept talking, the more I wanted to grab him and start kissing. Nevermind that he wasn't the Percy I used to know. He was still Percy. And it wasn't like I was Annabeth Chase anymore, either.

"Okay, fine. Ignore me. God. Why do you hate me so much?"

I glared at the trident bead on his camp necklace. "No reason."

Liz came back up to the counter, holding a Blue Blizzard. "One Blue Blizzard for Percy Jackson."

I looked at her, startled. When did I tell her Percy's name? I shook my head, sighing. I was really out of it today.

"It had better be good." Percy took the Blizzard. "It cost me a thousand bucks."

"A thousand bucks?" Liz looked at me, an eyebrow raised.

"Okay, okay!" I sighed, then pulled a five-dollar bill out of the wad of cash and threw the rest back at Percy. "I'll be reasonable and charge you only a dollar and ten cents more than normal."

"Wow, thanks."

"Don't get used to it."

Percy stood there for a moment, licking his blue blizzard. One of the white powdered sprinkles caught on the edge of his lip, and I almost reached out and brushed it away.

_No. Bad. _

But still, my finger twitched.

"Well, now that you have your ice cream, you can get out." Liz was looking at him, a murderous glare on her face. I wondered what she had against him. Usually, when she saw guys that looked like Percy, she would have been all over them by now.

"Just give me a sec," he murmured through a mouthful of ice cream.

"Out," Liz ordered. When Percy didn't move, she jumped over the counter and grabbed him, pushing him towards the door.

"Okay, okay!" Percy held up his hands defensively, then pulled the door open and left, rolling his eyes as he went.

I watched him disappear down the sidewalk, my body tense.

As soon as he left my line of vision, all the previous attitude that I had was gone. I felt like a balloon left outside in the cold for too long, all deflated and wrinkly. I let out a slow exhale, then had to blink furiously at tears that threatened to spill over my eyes. He was gone now, just like that, and I missed him like hell. All I wanted was to run after him, throw my arms around him, and never let go.

I wanted it back. All of it. I wanted him to be Percy Jackson and me to be Annabeth Chase. I wanted to go back in time, to forget everything, and just be teenagers again. Back when everything was simple, when the good and bad sides were obvious, when Percy would kiss me in the lake and when we were Camp Half-blood's cutest couple.

Back when I still used to be a hero.

"Awe, babe." Liz wrapped her arms around me in a hug, as if reading my mind. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." I stared longingly at the door. "I'm fine."

"I'm so sorry, Em. If I knew Percy Jackson was going to show up today, I would've locked you up in your closet if that was what it would have taken to convince the boss to let you stay at home."

I frowned at Liz. "How do you know him, anyway?"

Liz waved a hand dismissively. "You told me about a guy who broke your heart, remember? Back like, years ago? When that guy was there, you should've seen your face. You looked like you wanted to grab him and start kissing, and then take your knife and stab his heart out."

"Yeah, but I don't remember ever telling you his name."

"You told me this morning." Liz gave me a small smile. "Wow, Em. You're really out of it today, huh?"

"Yeah," I muttered.

But I knew better. Liz was a flawless liar. Her words were always smooth and unhitched, she always made eye contact, and she didn't twitch her fingers or bite her lip or do any of the things people usually did when they lied. She could've fooled anyone, anyone but me.

Liz was my best friend. I knew her too well. Whenever she lied, her voice lifted ever so slightly at the end of her sentences. It was her Tell. Anybody else wouldn't have noticed it. But I wasn't anybody else.

"When we drove to work. You were talking about him, and then you told me." Liz added.

"Yeah," I said to her. "Now I remember."

But I didn't remember.

Because Liz was lying.

* * *

I watched as Liz's car pulled out of the parking lot. I had refused her ride back, claiming to want to stay behind and be alone for a while. I don't know if she believed me, but she left anyway. And now I was going to have to walk home.

I didn't know what was wrong with me. All of a sudden, I didn't trust Liz anymore. It was stupid. If Liz wanted to kill me or something, she could've done it years ago. Liz took me in, took care of me, helped me buy my house. She did everything for me.

But that was just the thing. She had been almost too good to be true.

I sighed, dropping my head into my hands. Who was Liz? Was she really mortal? It had always seemed like it, but I couldn't be sure anymore. And most of all, how did she know Percy?

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and it startled me so much that I almost took it and smashed it to the floor. With a sigh, I pulled it out.

_Liz, _The caller I.D read. I stared at her name. For a moment, I considered not answering, but I had never missed a call from Liz before. She'd know something was up.

"Hey, Liz."

"Hey, girl!" Liz's familiar, cheery voice exclaimed from the other end of the line. "I just got home. Are you home yet?"

Wow. That was fast. Liz must've driven like a maniac.

I looked around Ice Castle. "Uh, yeah."

"Don't lie to me, Em."

I laughed, hiding the uneasiness in my voice. "Alright, alright! I'm still walking."

Liz made a noise of discontent. "_Still?"_

"Hey, I'm only moving at a speed of 3 miles per hour."

"Are you sure you don't want me to come pick you up?"

"It's fine, Liz. Walking is nice for a change. Getting some exercise."

"Right." Liz muttered. " 'Cause assassinating people isn't enough exercise for you, apparently."

"Liz!" I rolled my eyes. "I'm almost home. Really. I'll call you when I get there, Kay?"

"Alright. Love ya, Em. Bye."

"Bye."

I stayed on the line until it disconnected, then dropped the phone back into my pocket. It was weird, lying to Liz. The tightness in my chest wouldn't ease up, and I had to cough a couple of times. The person I trusted the most, lying to me. The person that I used to love, back in my life. Something told me that this wasn't just a coincidence.

I left the shop, making sure to shut down all the ice cream machines and turn off the lights. I was locking up when I felt the hair on the back of my neck tremble. The oddest sensation went through me, and in that second, I knew that I was being watched.

I whipped around, and just as I did, a knife flew straight towards me. Instinct told me to scream and run away, but logic told to me stay still. The angle of the knife wasn't right. It was going to miss.

And it did. The knife embedded itself in the glass door, inches away from my ear. I looked around, scanning the rooftops and the windows, but there was nobody there. Whoever had thrown the knife was gone.

Slowly, I turned to the knife. It must have been thrown with a lot of force to have stuck into the glass. I glanced around the street wearily, but nobody seemed to have noticed the murder attempt that had just happened.

Or maybe it wasn't a murder attempt. I had missed it before, but now that I looked closer, I could see a note, a single sheet of paper, rolled up and tied to the hilt of the knife.

I took the knife out of the glass, stuck it into my belt, and carefully rolled open the note.

The handwriting was familiar, reminding me of how things used to be, the days of notes passed from cabin to cabin and the letters that we used to write back and forth.

_From Percy Jackson, _it read. I wanted to crumple it right there, but I couldn't. _Read on, _the Annabeth part of me whispered. And so I did.

_I've been waiting for you forever. What the hell were you doing in there? Wait. Nevermind. I don't want to know. You probably eat babies in your spare time or something._

_I'm probably crazy for giving you this, but..._

Beneath that was a number. _His _number. My breath caught in my throat. I should probably throw it out. Get rid of it. Rip it into little tiny pieces and stomp on it, like what he did with my heart. Show him I wanted nothing to do with him.

After all, how many other girls had his number? How many girls did he write those same words to? _I'm probably crazy for giving you this, but... _

I'm probably crazy for wanting to keep it. But I do.

I tried to throw it out. I really did. But instead, my hand folded up the paper carefully, sticking it into my pocket.

Not because I still like him. No. Definetly not. It was just in case.

Just in case.

* * *

**Alright, so...unfortunately...**

**my parents have taken away my laptop.**

**Permanently.**

**From now on, I can only update using the desktop, which is dreadfully slow. Plus, I'm only allowed to used the computer for homework. **

**You're probably wondering what I did to get this harsh a punishment. Well, it was pretty bad. Let's just leave it at that. (although really, it was an accident...plus it wasn't really _that _bad...)**

**Anyway, I'll try to update fast, but it probably won't be weekly, like I used to do. :(**

**But still, I'll try my best. :)**

**And as always, leave me a review!**

**~BurningAngel**


	5. Chapter 4

**Okay. So I know it's been like, a month. I'm really, really sorry, but I've hardly had access to a computer.**

**I really shouldn't even be on here, final exams are coming up, but I feel like I owe it to you guys to update. :)**

**Anyway, enjoy :D.**

* * *

Walking home was nice. A change. For once, I finally had some time to think.

Percy's crumpled-up number was in my pocket, and it felt like a huge weight, dragging me down. The logical thing to do would be to throw it out. But I couldn't. I'd tried to many times already.

I shook my head, pushing Percy and those sea-green eyes of his to the back of my mind. Hopefully, I wouldn't ever see him again. Keeping his number was only a precaution. I wouldn't use it. That was for sure.

A light breeze scattered my hair across my face, and I tucked it back behind my ear, turning my mind to more important matters. Like Liz.

I sighed. Liz. What was going on with her? She was still the same old Liz, but was she really who I'd always thought she was? Was she mortal? And if not, then what in Hades was she? A monster?

I turned onto my street. I could see my house in the distance, and I chastised myself for thinking that Liz could be a monster. She had helped me through all these years, and I wasn't exactly being grateful. Besides, if she really was a monster, she'd had plenty of chances to kill me. I wasn't dead, though, so that spoke for itself.

I froze on the sidewalk. My house. The front door was open.

I was sure, sure that I had closed it and locked it this morning. I might have been out of it, but I was never _that _out of it. I was a hundred percent certain that I had clicked that lock when I left.

Instinct kicked in, and I crept up to the door, keeping my hands at my sides, at the ready to pull out my knife or dagger. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. I wasn't sure what was in my house, but whatever it was, it wasn't good.

The doorknob had been snapped cleanly off. There were long gashes in the wood, as if somebody had raked huge claws across the door.

I sucked in a slow breath. Okay. So it probably wasn't a mortal or a half-blood. They could've just picked the lock instead of abusing my door.

My hand crept down to my thigh and closed slowly around the celestial bronze dagger that Luke had given me all those years ago.

I peeked carefully into my house, but all I could see was darkness. My living room looked exactly the same as it always did, but something was off. There was something in there that had my spine tingling and my hair standing on end.

Something moved in the shadows, and I clutched my dagger tighter. The last thing I wanted was to go in there, but I had to, sooner or later. And I might as well get this over with.

Hesitantly, I stepped into my house. The soft thud of my footstep sounded incredibly loud in the silence. I slipped through the door and quickly pressed myself up against the wall.

There was a snapping sound, and then the door slammed shut behind me. I jumped, then cursed and quickly whipped around, trying the knob. It turned in my hand, but the door didn't budge. It was stuck in its frame. I threw my body weight onto the door, and my hand brushed against something wet and sticky.

I almost yelped, pulling it back. There was a spiderweb caught between my fingers.

And just like that, I knew exactly what was in my house.

"Annabeth..." A female voice hissed. "Come here..."

I turned around slowly. There was a dark shadow in the living room. I walked forward hesitantly, tucking the dagger up into my sleeve. "Hello?" I called out softly.

"Annabeth...I'm back..."

My hand found the light switch, and I quickly flicked it up. Light flooded the room, and I had to blink several times as my eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness.

There was a loud hiss from the living room, and I glanced over to see a giant spider scuttling backwards.

"Arachne!" I backed up a step, the raw, seizing terror of seeing a human sized spider nearly making me turn around and dash madly for the door.

"It's been a long time, Annabeth Chase." The spider peered up, blinking her eight beady eyes. "A long, long time. I really should thank you. The desire for revenge was what got me out of Tartartus so quickly. If you can call two and a half decades quick."

"What do you want from me?" I asked, carefully extracting my dagger out of my sleeve, bit by bit.

Arachne shrugged. It was weird, seeing a spider shrug. "You know what I want, Annabeth. Your death. Though I must say, I'm surprised. I thought I would find you at Camp Half-Blood, married to that Percy Jackson, who fell into Tartartus for you. Living your days peacefully, all lovey dovey, surrounded by your children."

I clenched my teeth. "I don't need Camp Half-Blood and Percy Jackson to be happy."

The spider acted as if I hadn't spoken. "And now, here you are, just as much of an outcast as I am. Kept away from the place that you had saved so many times, your friends ignoring you like you're a monster. And Percy Jackson. Where is he now? That boy who had said that he wasn't losing you again?"

Rage bubbled up in me, rage that she would dare to talk to me like that, and then I was charging straight at her. She smiled, like she was expecting it, and suddenly, a spider web was shooting at me from nowhere.

Annabeth Chase would have been trapped, trapped by her pride. But Emilie Night was used to it by now.

I ducked and rolled out of the way, the web shooting past my ear. I didn't slow my pace, and the next second, I was onto a surprised Arachne. I stabbed my dagger at her body, fear already clawing its way up my throat as I saw her huge, hairy legs. My hand trembled, and Arachne skittered out of the way.

I wanted to run so badly that it was all I could do to keep my feet planted. Annabeth Chase might be covered up, but her fear of spiders wasn't.

Arachne spat another web at me, and I ducked, a second too late. The web tangled itself in my hair, and I quickly hacked it off without touching the sticky strands. Dark brown curls fell to the floor.

The spider crawled onto the ceiling, then started to scuttle towards me, possibly right out of one of my worst nightmares. I almost screamed as she opened her mouth wide, revealing a row of jagged teeth. Were spiders even supposed have teeth?

I crawled under her as she leaned down, and I felt her teeth pierce my back. It felt like fire, and it was all I could do not to scream in pain. I gave a shudder, then crawled faster and scrambled up as Arachne turned around. "Stop running, Annabeth. You have nowhere to go."

Another spiderweb shot for me, and I cursed as it latched onto my ankle. Arachne gave a tug, and I fell forwards. She started to drag me towards her, and I sawed at the web with my dagger. It broke, strand by strand, and my arms began to ache.

I was halfway through it when I got dragged to Arachne. She leaned down with a smile, teeth out. I kicked her in the face and she let out a scream and stumbled back. I kept sawing, more hurridly.

"Come on, come on," I muttered.

Arachne was back, her face a mask of fury. She dug her teeth into my leg, hard, and I cried out. Was she poisonous? I felt like I was getting dizzy.

I sawed harder, harder, getting desperate. I was on to the last strand.

I almost gave a cry of triumpth as it snapped, and I stabbed my dagger into one of Arachne's eyes. She let out a shriek and I pulled my thigh away from her mouth and stumbled into the kitchen.

My leg was screaming with pain, but I had to get away from Arachne. I clenched my teeth, ignoring the fire, and limped to the back door. I could hear the scuttling feet of Arachne. I tried the knob. Nothing happened. I was about to yell with frustration when I realized that the door was still locked.

I turned the lock quickly, then swore. It was stuck.

In the next second, a web was over the lock. I didn't have the time to cut it again, strand by strand. I felt lightheaded and slightly nauseus. It was the bite. I prayed to my mom that it wasn't poisonous. Not that she'd be listening to her traitor daughter, anyway.

I turned around, slowly, dread seeping into the pit of my stomach. Arachne was there, blocking the kitchen doorway like some sort of misshapen security guard. I felt like one of my targets, stuck, trapped, nowhere to go and no option before me but death.

But Emilie Night didn't do death.

I ran my options through my head, quickly, throughoutly, my head clear despite the throbbing headache that was beginning to form. The only way I was going to survive this was by killing Arachne. My dagger obviously couldn't do that. I was going to need something else, something stronger...

"Finally," Arachne breathed, her one bad eye where I had stabbed her whirling around and around in its socket. "You have no idea how long I have been waiting for this."

I gave her a hard smile. "Well, you're going to have to wait longer."

I whirled around and grabbed the spray nozzel from the kitchen sink. I turned back, hitting Arachne right in the center of her spider chest with a huge jet of water. She gave a cry, then fell backwards, out of the doorway.

I grinned with triumpth, not wasting a second, rushing forwards and out as fast as I could with my leg slowing me down. For a brief second, I wondered if this was how Percy felt after blowing his enemies away with his water powers. Literally.

I heard the swoosh as Arachne shot a web at me from behind, and I jumped just in time, the web plastering itself to the wall. My leg thumped back to the floor painfully.

I hurried down the hallway to my room as fast as I could, spots beginning to dance across my vision. The pain was somehow growing, increasing, and it was beginning to get harder and harder to keep myself upright.

I burst into my room, then ran-limped to my bed. I dug underneath it, farther, farther, sweat beads beginning to form on my forhead. Finally, my hand touched something cool and solid, just as Arachne burst into my room as well.

"Annabeth!" Her voice was almost a screech. "Die!"

I pulled my hand out from under the bed and threw the metal ball at her as hard as I could. She looked confused as it spun towards her, her head cocking to one side. It smashed into her with a loud clang.

I hit the floor as Greek Fire exploded everywhere. I felt my hair fry. I didn't know if I had killed Arachne or not, but everything was catching fire, and if I didn't get out of here soon, I was going to be dead.

I crawled over to the window, gasping for air. My head was feeling woozy, and my tongue was all tingly and numb. The first sign of spider poisoning. I grabbed my lamp off my nightstand and smashed it through my window. Cool, refreshing air flowed in, and I took a deep gulp.

Thanking the Gods that I had bought a flat, and not a house where my bedroom would be upstairs, I crawled out my window, the sharp edges of the glass scratching my stomach. I fell into the grass, then managed to roll a few feet before all my energy just completely left me. I couldn't feel my leg anymore. I didn't know if that was a good thing.

I took a much needed couple of minutes to remind myself that my house was probably going to explode soon, and I should get as far away from it as possible.

I crawled through the grass, my head pounding with what was possibly the worst headache of my life. A haze had crept over my vision, and I knew it wasn't going to be long I blacked out. Then, the spider venom was either going to run its course, or I was going to die.

Just then, my house exploded with an earsplitting boom that made me cry out. Suddenly, glass and wood was raining down everywhere. A piece of my dresser, almost burnt beyond recognition, landed dangerously close to my head. I crawled faster, hoping that I hadn't defeated Arachne and blew up my house only to get killed by falling debris.

Ridiculously, all I could think about was that all my clothes were gone, and that the huge blue teddy bear that Percy had bought me for my seventeen birthday- I kept it buried at the bottom of my closet, but I did take it out now and then, just for old times' sake-was now probably reduced to ashes. I felt like crying, which was stupid, since I was completely and definetly over him.

I had gotten to the edge of my backyard. I pulled myself into a sitting position, wincing as I jostled my leg. I could hear shouting in the distance.

"Oh God!" I heard a cry. "Isn't that Emma's house? Is she alright?"

"What happened?"

"Did you see that?" Somebody else yelled. "The whole house just- blew up!"

"Call 911!"

I knew it wasn't going to be long before emergency services showed up. And I needed to be far, far away by then. I glanced down at my leg. I wasn't going anywhere. My vision was blurry now. Unless some miracle happened, I wouldn't even be able to jump my fence, much less get miles away.

It was time to get help, and I knew it.

Sighing, I pulled out my cell phone. Usually, Liz was my go-to person for these types of things. She'd gotten me out of sticky situations plenty of times. I could always trust her to save my neck.

But today was different. I couldn't bring myself to dial Liz's familiar number. I knew it was stupid. She'd always helped me without hesitation. I didn't know why I didn't trust her now. I had no reason to.

No matter how hard I tried, though, I just couldn't. I couldn't press those stupid buttons on my cell phone. I had pretty much given myself a death sentence. I was going to die out here from Arachne's poison if I didn't get help. And Liz was the only person I could call.

I bit my lip.

Okay. Not the _only _person.

I only debated with myself for a few minutes before pulling out his number. It was either call him, or die.

I listened to the dial tone, uneasiness fluttering in my stomach. _He'd better pick up. _

"Hello?" His voice sent warm shivers down my spine. I frowned at myself.

"Hello?" He repeated. "Anybody there?"

"Uh, yeah." I said quickly.

There was a moment of silence on the other end. "Em?"

"Yeah." I took a deep breath. "Listen, Percy. I'm in trouble. My house... kind of...blew up."

"Blew up?"

"It's a long story. I'm in my backyard right now. My leg hurts like hell. The cops are going to show up soon, and I just need somebody to get me out of here..."

He paused. "Why are you calling me?"

"What do you mean?"

"What about Liz?" He asked. "Isn't she your best friend? What happened to her?"

"Well..." I cleared my throat. "That's none of your buisness."

"If you want me to rescue you, I'm pretty sure that's part of my buisness."

I was going to protest angrily, but a wave of nausea hit me and I just barely managed to remain consious. "Please," I begged. My voice was desperate. It hurt me that I had been reduced to begging.

There was silence on the other end. When he spoke again, his voice was uncertain, slightly shocked, as if he hadn't expected me to plead with him. "Alright. I'll come."

I blinked, surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. Can't leave a damsel in distress." I gritted my teeth at that, but let it slide. It was true, anyway. Currently, I was the closest to the definition of damsel in distress that I'd ever get. "I need your address, though."

I gave it to him quickly, my heart in my throat.

"Okay." I heard the distant ruffle of papers through the phone. "Got it. Be there in five, max."

I sighed in relief. "Thank you," I whispered.

Another pause. "Yeah. You're welcome."

I hung up, then stared at the phone in my hand. I couldn't stop a smile from spreading across my face. Maybe Percy wasn't so different after all. Loyal, kind, willing to go out of his way to help others.

Not that it meant anything. I was just another one of what was probably the dozens of girls he'd charmed. He might still kind of be himself, but that didn't change anything. I was done with him, over him.

I leaned back against the fence. I heard the distant wails of sirens. It didn't bother me, though. I knew Percy would get here first. With a small sigh, I stopped fighting against unconsiousness.

Like a wave, it lapped at me, rearing up eagerly when I finally stopped pushing against it. The spots in my vision expanded, becoming fat blobs instead of little pinpoints.

The wave pulled me under, and everything went black.

* * *

**Lots of you are impatient for this story to become Percabeth, and I promise that it will. Not for a while, though. It's going to take time for Annabeth to trust him again, and plus Percy's going to tell her his backstory, so just be patient! I don't want to rush things. When Percabeth does come, though, I promise it will be good. Very, very good. ;)**

**Leave a review, and I'll give you a smiley face :)!**

**~BurningAngel**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone :)**

**It's been a while. I seem to have less time for writing when it's summer than when I have school. Weird.**

**Anyway, I'm sorry for the long wait, and heres an update(finally!).**

**Just a heads up...there will be Percabeth...don't ask me how. You will see.**

**Oh, that reminds me. All you reviewers are getting smiley faces.**

**:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)**

* * *

Everything was much nicer when you were unconsious. There was no more pain, no more worries, no more fretting over the future, and most of all, no more nostalgia for the past.

It was nice, really. Quiet and dark, like I was floating on a cool pool of water, the waves gently lapping at my body. I wondered why I didn't stay unconsious all the time. It was so much easier than being awake.

Suddenly, though, I was flying, up, up, up through the water, almost breaking the surface. I was aware of arms wrapping around me gently, of their warmth and security and the familiar way they fit around me. They picked me up, and then I was being cradled against someone's chest, my head resting in the nook of their shoulder.

That someone was touching my hair, playing with it, walking with quick strides that jostled me a bit. Then, unexpectedly, I felt a warm breath against my ear and heard a voice, a male voice, almost as familiar to me as my own heartbeat.

"It's okay. I've got you."

Yes. He had me. Everything was okay, as long as he had me.

And that was when it started. I was reliving a memory, the best day of my life. With _him. _Or maybe just hallucinations, caused by the spider venom. Maybe I was going crazy, losing my mind.

I guess either one would make sense.

* * *

_"Hello?" I called out. It was dark, so dark I could barely see my hand in front of my face. I was in some sort of a cave, or maybe it was a tunnel, long and endless._

_"Hello? Is anybody there?" I repeated, walking forwards. My footsteps echoed around the cavern._

_"Over here!" Somebody giggled. It was the voice of a little girl, and then a familiar-looking child stepped out from the shadows. She had a round face and her curly blonde hair was pulled back into a braid. Her eyes were wide and bright, stormy gray framed by dark lashes._

_I blinked at her. "Do I know you?"_

_The little girl smiled, showing her dimples. "You're silly. I'm you, of course. And you're me."_

_It hit me like a wave, then. Yes, I knew her. She was me, younger me, back in the old days when Luke was like an older brother to me and Thalia had never turned into a pine tree._

_I lifted my hand, as if to place it in younger me's hair, but then she was suddenly right there, right in front of me, her hand lifted up as well. She touched my fingers, gently, gingerly, and then she grabbed my hand and led me deeper into the cave, running into the darkness._

_"Where are we going?" I asked._

_She turned around, her eyes twinkling. "You'll see!" She laughed._

_We ran, faster, faster, and then all of a sudden there was a light in front of us, and I wondered if I was dying, and if this was what people meant by the light at the end of the tunnel._

_"Please tell me where we're going," I pleaded._

_Younger me thought for a moment, then smiled. "Alright. We're going to the best day of our life."_

_I looked at her. "The best day of our life?"_

_"Yeah." She gave me a wide, toothy grin. "Our seventeenth birthday."_

_She pulled me into the light, and then it surrounded us, and I tried to hang on to younger me's fingers, but I was slipping, and then her hand was gone and I was falling, falling into the light._

* * *

"Annabeth!"

I sat up in bed, frowning. I was still drowsy from sleep, but I could swear to Zeus I just heard somebody call my name.

"Annabeth!" I heard a familiar voice hiss from the window.

I looked out, and sure enough, there was Percy. He was peering into the window, his face pressed up against the glass. When he saw me looking at him, he gave me a wave and a lopsided grin.

I slid out of bed, ran a hand through my hair to make sure it was presentable, then tiptoed past my sleeping siblings to the window. I gave Percy a what-the-Hades-are-you-doing look.

He gestured for me to open the window, and I did so, raising one questioning eyebrow.

"Hey, Annabeth! Did I wake you up?"

"Uh, yeah, Seaweed Brain. It's midnight. What are you doing?"

Percy grinned at me. "I'm sorry."

I rolled my eyes. "Percy, we already went through this. It's okay. I forgive you for not getting me a birthday present."

He snorted. "I wasn't talking about the birthday present. I'm sorry for making you mad." His eyes glinted mischeviously. "As for the birthday present, I'm giving it to you right now."

I frowned. "Can't it wait until morning?"

"No. It's a limited time offer." He held out a hand, wiggling his fingers. "Come on."

I stared at it. "Are you asking me to climb out the window?"

"Yep."

"But it's way past curfew!"

"Annabeth," Percy groaned. "Where's your rebellious side?"

"I don't have one," I grumbled, crossing my arms. "I want to go back to bed."

"Oh come on," Percy smiled at me, his sea-green eyes giving me butterflies. "I promise it will be worth it."

I glared at him. "Well..."

Seeing my indecisiveness, he reached his arms inside the window and wrapped them around my waist. He started to pick me up and I quickly tried to wiggle out of his arms.

"Perseus Jackson," I warned. "If you pull me out this window-"

I didn't have time to finish my threat, because suddenly, I was flying outside. I tumbled onto the grass, my limbs tangling with Percy's.

"It's going to take forever to get these grass stains out of my pajamas! Percy, you are so _dead!"_

Percy quickly scrambled up, laughing, running for the beach.

"Oh no you don't!" I chased after him, the cool grass caressing my bare feet.

Camp looked so different at night, but then again, I guess everything looked different cloaked in darkness. Shadows decorated the cabins, and everything looked more dangerous somehow. Adrendaline rushed through my veins, and I put on a burst of speed, heading for the dark shape of Percy in front of me.

The cool night breeze blew my blonde curls out behind me, and for the first time, I understood the appeal of breaking the rules, of being bad, of doing something that you knew you weren't supposed to be doing. I felt free, unstoppable, on top of the world.

I had caught up with Percy now, but the last thing I felt was anger. I laughed out loud and marveled at the sound, then pulled a surprised Percy to me and pressed my lips to his.

"Wow," Percy breathed as we broke apart. "If this is your idea of death, then I'll be happy to die more often."

"You'd better enjoy my good mood while it lasts."

Percy laughed. "Yes, ma'am."

He took my hand, twining his fingers with mine, and led me down to the beach, where the waves lapped gently at shore. It was a full moon, and the stars twinkled in the sky.

"Are we going to New York?" I asked.

"Yeah." Percy raised our entertwined hands and pointed at the shore. "The carnival, to be exact."

I stared across the ocean at the pretty colored lights of the carnival. It looked festive, even at midnight, the ferris wheel spinning around and around and people walking along the boardwalk.

"One question." I looked at Percy. "How are we getting across the ocean?"

"Well, for people who don't have amazing water powers, I planned ahead."

"Wow." I gave him a smile. "I'm impressed. My Seaweed-Brain? Planning ahead?"

He chuckled. "Don't get too used to it."

I rolled my eyes good-naturedly as a dark shape swooped down from the sky. Blackjack touched down directly in front of us, tossing his mane and giving me a nod.

"One getaway horse, ma'am." Percy's eyes shone, and he pulled me onto the pegasus with him. "You ready for a wild night?"

I laughed, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist. "Ready."

"Hang on!" Percy's shout was lost in the wind as Blackjack took off into the sky, and I almost gave a little shriek. We flew higher, higher, until I felt like I could reach out a hand and touch the stars.

The wind blew my hair everywhere, and I shut my eyes, resting my head on Percy's back. It was chilly up in the sky, but Percy was warm, and as Blackjack flew us to the mainland, I couldn't help marveling at how happy I was.

It felt like hours later when Percy whispered into my ear, "We're here."

I started to open my eyes, but Percy quickly covered them. "Wait. Just a second."

"Okay...?"

He led me off of Blackjack, and I heard him murmur a word of thanks. There was a swoosh of wings, and I knew the pegasus was gone. Percy took my hand in his, and walked me forwards a few steps before stopping.

"Alright." Percy let out a slow breath. "On the count of three, open your eyes."

"One..."

"Two..."

"Three!"

I opened my eyes, and gasped.

I had never been to a carnival in my life, probably due to the fact that I had spent my childhood on the streets and the rest of my life fighting monsters and going on quests. I had never thought I was missing out on much, but boy, was I wrong.

It was almost too much for me to take in at once, the shining lights, the ferris wheel, the merry-go-round, all of the laughing people and couples holding hands. Kids ran down the boardwalk, holding corndogs and cotton candy, their arms filled to the brim with stuffed animals.

It was mortal life at its best, something I never thought I'd have an opportunity to experience.

Percy was grinning from ear-to-ear, laughing at my dumbfounded expression. "What do you want to do?"

"Everything," I whispered.

Percy kissed the nape of my neck, sending warm shudders down my spine. "Don't worry, Wise Girl," he murmured. "We have all night."

And so, we did everything.

We rode the ferris wheel so many times that the manager had to kick us off, we went round and round the merry-go-round until I was dizzy, we screamed ourselves silly on the rollercoaster and drove bumper cars until our arms were sore and our tailbones ached from sitting in one place for so long. We stuffed ourselves with corndogs and cotton candy and caramel apples, we laughed and sang karaoke and had the time of our lives.

I couldn't remember ever feeling so free.

When everything was done, and there wasn't a haunted house or tunnel of love we hadn't experienced, not a single food that we hadn't sampled, and not a single manager that hadn't banned us from their ride, we walked hand in hand along the boardwalk, tired to the bone, but still happier than we'd ever been.

Well, maybe there was one thing we still hadn't done.

"Bobbing for apples!" Percy grinned, pointing to a booth just up ahead. A man in his early fifties was waving eagerly at us, a welcoming smile on his face.

"Oh no," I moaned. "You've already beat me at a dozen of these booth things! I think I've had enough losing for one day."

"No way," Percy dragged me forwards. "You said you wanted to do everything, remember?"

"Come on up!" the man boomed as we walked over. "Bobbing for apples! A dollar a try, and if you're lucky, maybe you'll win yourself the grand prize!"

I glanced behind him, at said grand prize. It was a life-sized blue teddy bear, complete with a bow and a lopsided smile that somehow reminded me of Percy.

"You go first, Annabeth." Percy handed the man a dollar, smiling at me. "I know you want that teddy."

I rolled my eyes, but sucked in a deep breath, and with a glance at Percy, dunked my head into the tub full of apples. The water soaked through my hair immediatly, and I groped around uncomfortably for what felt like forever before I finally resurfaced, spatting out a shiny red apple.

"Nice!" Percy wrapped his arm around my shoulder and gave me a squeeze.

"Good job," the man acknowledged. "But not grand-prize worthy."

Percy frowned at him. "So what is grand-prize worthy?"

"You have to get all of the apples out of the tub in one try."

Percy's eyes widened. "But that's impossible!"

The man shrugged. "I'm a businessman. I do what I have to do."

Percy's brow furrowed, and he got the look that he did when he was deep in thought. "Alright, fine then. I'll just have to get all of the apples out of the tub."

He handed the man another dollar bill**(why do you crazy Americans have dollars in bills?)**and gave me a meaningful look before turning to smile at the man.

Percy kept his gaze on the man, and I think the guy was getting a bit creeped out. Even I wasn't quite sure what was going on. Then, there was a slosh from the tub. A wave was building up on one side.

"Ah," I said, smiling.

The man's eyes were bugging out of his head, and then, with a subtle movement of Percy's hand, the wave smashed into the apples, sending them all tumbling out of the tub and onto the ground.

The man was staring at the apples like he wasn't quite sure how they got there.

Percy held out his hand, giving the guy a half-smile. "Where's my grand prize?"

The man blinked at Percy's hand for a few minutes, then took the bear off of the rack wordlessly, handed it to Percy, and flipped the sign on his booth from open to closed.

"Wow," I said later, as the two of us strolled into the park. Lights were strung up in the trees, but it was late, and even though the park was bright and cheery, it was pretty much empty. "I think you really freaked that guy out."

Percy grinned as the two of us sat down under a maple tree, his bear still in his arms. "Well, hey, it's what I do."

I smiled at him, and he took the bear tucked under his arm and presented it to me with a flourish. "For you, Wise Girl. Happy birthday."

I took it from him and hugged it to my chest. "Thanks. I love it."

He wrapped an arm around me, and I leaned against his shoulder. We were both silent for a moment, and I listened to Percy's rhythmic breathing. It was so peaceful, so calm, and I wished that there was no war, no Gaea to defeat, and that we could stay in this moment forever.

"Percy?"

"Hmm?"

I looked up at him. "Will you do something for me?"

"Anything," he answered immediatly.

"Be mine," I whispered.

Percy shook his head. "I already am yours."

"You can't say that until we're married."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking me to propose?"

"No!" I gave him a playful punch. "Of course not. We're only seventeen."

"Then what do you mean?"

I looked across the park, at the twinkling lights in the trees. "I just don't want you to ever leave me."

There was a pause, and then Percy tiled my chin up so I was looking at him again. "Annabeth, I'm never leaving you. Never."

I stared at him, getting lost in his earnest sea-green eyes. "Promise?"

He kissed me gently, his lips lingering on mine. "I promise."

* * *

_He promised._

_He_

_Promised_

_he_

_promise-_

* * *

"Em?"

I blinked my eyes open, slowly, hesitantly. My whole body ached, and the room around me was blurry. I was lying down on a bed, that much I knew. The walls were a cheery sky-blue color, the lopsided photograph that was hung on it swimming before my eyes.

"Em, are you awake?"

My eyes focused on a concerned pair of sea-green eyes that were staring at me, and I almost jumped out of bed. Suddenly, everything came rushing back. I was in Percy's house.

I wanted to facepalm myself. No, scratch that. I wanted to face-wall. Why did I call _Percy_ to pick me up when the sane option would have been Liz?

Well, maybe because I was _in_sane, after all.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I remembered the dream/hallucination/whatever it was that the spider venom had brought on. That day seemed like a lifetime ago now, and I wanted nothing more to go back, back to a much simpler time when the only thing that could have seperated me and Percy was death.

"Em?"

I blinked, and Percy came into focus. He was looking at me with a concerned expression, and I sighed.

"Yeah, I'm awake."

"Are you feeling alright?"

I did a mental check-up. My whole body was aching, and I had a slight headache, but aside from that, all bodily functions seemed to be working and all my limbs appeared intact.

"Yeah, I think I'm okay."

Percy nodded, looking slightly anxious still. "Are you sure? You don't feel hot, or on fire, or like you're burning up, maybe?"

I frowned. "No...? Am I supposed to?"

"No, of course not," he said quickly. Too quickly. "I was just making sure."

I narrowed my eyes, sitting up slowly. My head protested angrily, and I swayed a little. Percy reached out to push me back down, but I slapped his hands aside. I was keeping what little dignity I had left.

"So what if I _was_ feeling hot?" I asked suspiciously.

"Then..." Percy cleared his throat nervously. "That would be bad."

"Because...?"

Percy didn't answer, but he didn't have to, because just then, I saw it. On the nightstand was a metal canteen, the kind that nectar was kept in, and a little baggie of ambrosia squares.

"No!" I would have jumped up if I could. "Did you feed me ambrosia and nectar?"

He raised an eyebrow. "How do you know what they are?"

I paused for only a second, then continued on, ignoring his question. "I could have died! What the _hell _were you thinking? Mortals can't have that stuff!"

Percy shrugged. "Well, you're not a mortal, are you now?"

I was fuming, too angry to try to take back my words. It was too late now, he knew I wasn't a mortal, so I might as well yell at him while I could. "But what if I was? A mortal, I mean. I'd be dead right now! You can't just go around feeding people stuff that could potientially cause them to implode!"

"Well, your house was covered with Greek Fire, so I kind of figured..."

"Argh!" I threw up my hands. "You figured? What if I died?"

"You looked like you were about to die. You were so pale, and you were out for three days, covered in sweat and muttering something about carnivals and apples. It was my last resort. I didn't want to do it, but you would have died otherwise."

I sighed, deflating a little. "Fine. Whatever."

We were both silent for a few minutes.

"So." Percy coughed. "Who's your godly parent?"

I crossed my arms. "None of your business."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Why aren't you at Camp Half-Blood?"

I pulled the covers over my head. "Leave me alone," I muttered.

"Fine." Percy got up from the bed, heading for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Out."

"Out?" I questioned, my voice muffled by the blanket. I knew I was being childish, but I couldn't remove the covers now without possibly burning up from the embarrassment.

He opened the door. "I'll be back when you're in a better mood."

I rolled my eyes, then peeked out from under the blanket, watching him go.

He was halfway out the door when I called out, "Hey!"

He turned around. "Yeah?"

I bit my lip. "Thanks. You know, for saving me and everything."

He was silent for a moment. It was clearly not what he had been expecting. "Yeah. You're welcome."

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed the Percabeth in this chapter. :) Just a little glance at the amazing Percabeth yet to come.**

**Please Note*IMPORTANT*: There will possibly be a username change in the future, so if you are finding my stories via searching for my username, then just be prepared. I'm also going to be making some changes to the format of stuff, I think starting perhaps next chapter, all authors notes will be at the beginning, and I'd like to start numbering chapters... but it's kind of too late for that now, so I'll start that when I start a new story(which, might happen sooner than expected. I'm trying to stick to two fanfics at a time, but this idea has just been chasing me around and around and it's going to get me soon). I might go through after this is finished, and edit the chapters and also put in numbering. And, if I do change my username, to replace ~BurningAngel with my new username...whatever it will be...**

**Anyway, hope you liked this chapter, and drop a review! :)**

**~BurningAngel**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Okay...so the plot bunnies have caught me. Well, more specifically, they've tied me to a chair and are smacking me over and over again :P. I was up like all last night just thinking about a possible next fanfic. Yes, it would be a Chaos fic. But it would be Percabeth, and I promise you it'll have a great plot and character development and be completely different from any other Chaos story you've ever read. Hopefully you guys have some trust in me. :)

Obviously though, if I start another one, it'll take some time away from my current stories, and not everybody likes Chaos stories, so I'm going to put it up to a vote. The complete summary(which will be shrunk down to size because it's over the max character limit for summaries) is on my profile, so go ahead and read it, and then vote on the poll whether or not you would like to see it written.

Oh, and kudos to anyone who gets the references in this chapter. ;)

~Ashes

* * *

Percy's bed was surprisingly comfy.

I felt somewhat guilty for mooching it from him, but when it was past ten and he still hadn't returned, I figured he probably wouldn't be needing it anyway. He was probably doing a job. Now that he was here, it looked like I would have to undergo a change in career. My phone showed no messages or missed calls from clients, even though I had been out for a good three days.

I sighed, flicking off the lamp and snuggling down beneath the covers. I felt like I should tell Percy who I was, but I doubt he even remembered Annabeth anymore. Relationships change, especially after almost two decades apart from each other.

Percy had obviously changed plenty. How many girls were in his life now? A lot, I bet. He was all charming and bad-boy now, not the clueless Seaweed Brain that I remembered. He probably had a whole crowd of fawning girls at his disposal. Maybe that's why he never bothered to IM me after I got exhiled. Maybe he had never missed me like I'd missed him.

Maybe I should do a little reconnaissance before I decided whether or not to tell him who I was.

I smiled sadly when I realized that his pillow smelt like the sea. I missed the good old days, that was for sure. Even if there had been a war, and our lives had always been in danger, at least we could have always been sure of each other.

It was weird, the things life threw at you. Innocent until proven guilty, they say. But what if you were proven guilty- but you were actually innocent?

* * *

I woke up to golden sunlight streaming through the window. Shadows from the tree outside danced on the covers, their shapes twirling around and around as the wind blew through the branches.

I let out a small yawn and sat up, running a hand through my hair. A strand got caught between my fingers, and I frowned at it. The hair dye was fading, single strands of blonde showing through here and there. I had a week, at most, and then I would have to dye it again.

I slid out of bed and moved to the window, pulling aside the thin satin curtains. I had to blink as my eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight. It seemed like Percy's house was in the countryside. The huge lawn was freshly mowed, and thick groves of trees pressed up against the sides of the house.

I watched as a raven flew off from a nearby branch, then turned away from the window, blinking away the sleepiness that threatened my eyes. I was about to pull open the door when I caught sight of myself in the dresser mirror.

I was still wearing my _Ice Castle _clothes, and after spending three days in bed, they were dingy and wrinkled. My hair was a mess, tangled and frizzy to the point of almost looking like an afro. I hurriedly rummaged around the room, but it seemed like Percy kept his room devoid of hairbrushes.

With a grimace, I took an elastic off of my wrist and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. It wasn't great, but it would have to do. It wasn't like I wanted to impress anyone, anyway.

I moved to open the door again, but something white flashed at the corner of my eye. A dress, laid out neatly on a chair. I turned to it, surprised.

My surprise quickly turned into horror.

It was pretty and all. Oh, it was very cute. But _what? _He wanted me to wear _that?_

It was a white strapless dress, tucked in at the waist, ruffles flaring out at the bottom. It was a very simple dress, but it was lacy and very, very feminine.

I glared at it. I would've skewered Percy alive if he'd bought a dress like this for a girl that he barely knew back when we were dating. I mean, I got it, he was a flirt and a bit of a player, but a simple t-shirt and shorts would have been fine. But no. He _buys _me a freaking _dress?_

Uh-uh. No way.

But I did need some clothes to change into.

I considered my options for a moment, then decided to raid Percy's closet. I mean, if he could _buy _a dress specifically for me, I'm sure he would't mind me borrowing a t-shirt and some pants. I wasn't sure how I felt about borrowing his clothes, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

I dug through his closet for a few minutes- it was still just as messy as he used to keep his cabin back and camp- and emerged with a black t-shirt and gray sweats.

With a grateful sigh, I peeled off my _Ice Castle _outfit and threw it into Percy's laundry basket. I might as well get my clothes washed while I could. I pulled on his t-shirt and sweats. They were surprisingly comfy, but of course they were many sizes too big. The t-shirt hung down almost to my knees, and I had to pull the strings of the sweatpants tight and tie it in order for it to not drop down to my ankles.

I shot one last glance of distaste at the dress, then grabbed my phone off of the nightstand and walked out into the hallway. I looked around in surprise. Percy's house was not what I'd expected.

It was bright and cheery, sunlight streaming in through the windows. To the left, the hallway opened up into the living room, where a bunch of very masculine leather couches and a flat-screen T.V were placed. There was also a kitchen, lined with chestnut cabinets and a marble countertop. Potted plants sat on the window sills, but most of them were dried-up and in the process of dying. A few had been replaced with cacti. I smiled, despite myself.

The other way led to what looked like another bedroom and possibly a bathroom. There was a note taped to the bathroom door, and it took me a while of squinting to make out what it said.

_Em,_

_The lock on this door doesn't work. If you're in here and you hear me come home, __LET ME KNOW. Or you can face the consequences...which will not be pretty._

_-Percy_

I frowned at it. Okay, maybe I'd go to another bathroom. There had to be more than one bathroom in the house. I headed into the kitchen, where a mug of coffee was sitting on the counter. I looked cautiously at it.

Was that for me?

I was reaching forwards to pick it up when I noticed a yellow sticky-note peeking out from its side. I had to squeeze my eyes shut and re-open them several times before they finally made sense.

_Yes, you can drink this, _it said. _Don't worry. I didn't poison it._

I rolled my eyes, but took a small sip. It was very, very cold. Percy must've made it a few hours ago. I grimaced, then stuck it in the microwave, watching it spin for a few rotations before I took it back out and took a taste test.

I gave a happy sigh. It was warm, almost hot. The coffee was dark, no sugar, whipped cream on top, just the way I liked it.

I almost choked on my sigh. Just the way I liked it. Just the way _Annabeth _liked it.

No. Could he know?

My hand automatically reached up to my face. Yes. My contacts were still in. But I guess no matter what color I dyed my hair, and even if I was wearing bloodred contacts, I'd still look like myself. Annabeth. Same thing.

But he couldn't know. Not for sure. Maybe he _suspected. _

I was pretty sure he suspected.

I was debating whether or not to dump the coffee in the sink when the front door suddenly opened. I must've jumped a foot in the air.

Percy looked like he had been at a job, because he was dressed in the same black cargo pants and hoodie that he had been wearing the night I bumped into him. Okay, maybe it hadn't exactly been 'bumping into.' More like stalking.

"Oh, Em! You're..." he trailed off as he took me in, a single eyebrow raising. "Why are you wearing my clothes? You didn't like the dress?"

"I don't know, you tell me." I crossed my arms. I was about to launch into a lecture about buying dresses for girls you barely knew, but I stopped.

Annabeth. What would I be doing in this situation?

I would definitely be launching into a lecture about buying dresses for girls you barely knew.

Okay, change of plans. He definitely suspected me. So I was going to be as un-Annabethlike as possible. I would do the exact opposite that I would normally do in a situation like this.

"I love it!" I squealed. The words burned a little coming out, and I almost had to resist the urge to kill myself. "It was _so _cute! I just didn't want to wear it, because that would ruin it! I have to at least wait until a special occasion!"

Percy blinked at me. "Uh, Em? Are you okay?"

"I'm better than okay, actually. Thank you _so __much _for the dress, it's absolutely gorgeous!"

"You're welcome?" his uncertainty made the words into a question.

I flashed him a grin that Aphrodite would be proud of. "Percy, I can't believe you bought me a dress _and _made me coffee, you're, like, the most amazing guy ever!"

He watched with one eyebrow raised as I proceeded to dump the coffee down the drain.

"You don't like it?" he questioned.

I giggled, almost gagging. "No, no. I _love _coffee. But with milk, and a _lot _of sugar. That coffee was so bitter! It was gross."

He looked incredulous, but before he could say anything, my phone started to vibrate, jumping around on the counter. I picked it up, cupping my hands around it to block the sunlight so I could read the caller I.D.

_Liz._

Oh Gods.

I set it back down on the counter.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" Percy asked.

I ignored him, watching the phone buzz. It hopped around for another moment before beeping, indicating that the call had gone to voicemail.

_"Em," _Liz's voice said from the phone. _"I swear-"_

I didn't give her a chance to swear anything, because I reached forwards and swiped the phone off of my counter, hitting the _take call _button and pressing it to my ear. I made heavy breathing sounds.

"Em?"

"Yeah...?" I panted.

"Are you okay? Why are you breathing like that?"

"I...I was in the bathroom. I heard my phone vibrate, and I was just going to let it ring, but then voicemail came on, and I really didn't want an angry Liz."

Liz laughed, in the way that only she could, loud and wild and the kind that you knew was genuine. "Ah, I was just about to threaten to not talk to you for a week there."

I laughed too, trying my best to make it sound real. "Good thing I picked up."

"Yeah. Just checking that you made it home alright and didn't get abducted or anything."

"Nah, I'm fine." I glanced at Percy, who was watching me curiously. "No abductions."

"Glad to hear it." I heard scuffling sounds from the other end. "Okay, so it turns out that Bermuda Triangle2-which we both wanted to see- is still in theaters! And get this- it's playing tonight! Only two more days, though. Do you want to go see it? I can pick you up in five."

"Uh..." I bit my lip. If Liz went to pick me up, all she'd see would be a bunch of burnt debris where my house used to be. "The trailer looked pretty good, but I don't really want to see it anymore."

"What? Why?"

"I was reading some reviews online, and everyone said it sucked!" the lie rolled off my tongue easily, but there was no doubt that Liz would ask for details, and then I'd have to create myself a web of lies.

"Really? The first one was alright." Liz sounded unsure.

"Well, it didn't necessarily suck, but they said it was totally off from the book."

"It was based on a book?"

"Um. Yeah." I racked through my mind frantically for a few seconds. "They said that, uh, the girl's hair wasn't even the right color in the first movie, and so they dyed it blonde to fix it, but now it doesn't even make sense anymore, because now she's magically a blonde."

"Woah. Seriously? That brunette girl?"

"Yeah. And remember the evil guy, Lucian, who was trying to raise Time?"

"Uh-huh. Didn't he die?"

"Nope," I said. I was totally making up everything as I went, but Liz couldn't know that. Unless, of course, she really went to check the online reviews...

"No way." Liz was laughing.

"Yes way. And get this. Lucian used the Silver Pelt to raise Time-"

"But Time isn't supposed to rise until the last movie!"

"I know! And then Time ate Lucian and the lamb guy-"

"He ate?!"

Okay, maybe that was a little weird. But hey, I was kind of running out of ideas.

"Yep, ate." I glared at Percy, who was chuckling."Then the brunette girl-who is now blonde- freaking _died. _Oh, but don't worry, They brought her back to life with the Silver Pelt."

"Wow." Liz was silent. "That sounds pretty messed up. Maybe we should do something else instead."

"Maybe not tonight," I said quickly. "I'm kind of busy."

"With what?"

"I have to do laundry-"

"I can help you, if you want. I'm bored out of my mind."

"No, it's okay. I have to go." I hurriedly hung up, then turned off my phone, praying to the gods that Liz wouldn't decide to come over anyways or check the online reviews for Bermuda Triangle2.

"So." Percy's eyes twinkled mischeviously. "Time ate two of the characters in Bermuda Triangle2? Wow. You'd think that I would have noticed that, since I saw the movie and all."

"Oh, shut up." I put my phone back on the counter and crossed my arms. "I'm not good at lying to Liz."

"Well, I mean, you're screwed if she decides to really go check the reviews."

I sighed. "I know."

"You know, I still haven't asked you." Percy came over to me. "Why didn't you call Liz instead? To save you, I mean. We barely know each other."

I glanced at him, then smiled flirtatiously. "Because you're _so_ hot, of course."

Percy's eyebrows shot up. Okay, maybe that was a little _too _over-the-top.

"Em, are you _sure _you're feeling alright? Are you bipolar or something?"

I crossed my arms. "I'm not bipolar."

"See?" he gestured at me. "There you go again."

I sighed. This wasn't working.

Percy shook his head, then pulled off his black hoodie. A strip of his tan chest showed beneath his black t-shirt before he pulled it down, shaking out his tousled hair. He fished a roll of bills out of the pocket of his pants, then tossed it onto the kitchen counter.

I glared at it. "So. You _were _at a job."

Percy shrugged. "Yeah. Why are you so mad about that?"

I turned my glare on him. "Percy. You stole my job! All my clients just suddenly stopped calling. How am I supposed to get money when nobody wants to hire me?"

"Well, you do have that job at Ice Castle..."

I groaned. "Right. That's supposed to pay for groceries and the water bill and the electricity bill and gas-"

"What about your parents?"

I winced. "My dad's dead."

"Oh." Percy blinked. "I'm sorry."

I shook my head, indicating that I didn't want to talk about it. Sure, he was sorry. They all were. I missed my dad more than I could ever have imagined. Back when he was alive, back when I wasn't a traitor, I used to hate him. Hate him for marrying my stepmom, hate him for never having time for me. Hence why I ran away.

I never realized, though. How much I loved him. How I started to get close to him again, how everything was working out, and then he died of cancer. I never saw it coming. I never expected.

"I'm assuming, then, your mom is a goddess?"

Damn. More things to back up his theory of me being Annabeth.

"Yeah," I muttered. "Now can you _please _stop changing the subject?"

"I'm not changing the subject."

"Yes, you are. Stop trying to distract me from the fact that you're stealing my money."

He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not _trying _to rob you of your money. It's not my fault that your prices are so expensive."

"Excuse me? You're the one whose prices are abnormally cheap."

He sighed. "Sorry, okay? We could always do jobs together, then split the money..."

"Work with _you_?" I frowned.

"You were just squealing over my hotness a second ago."

"Oh, shut up." I exhaled slowly.

_Bipolar, _he mouthed. I ignored him.

"Can't you just increase your prices?" I asked.

"What? And let you get all my clients?"

I glowered at the floor. "Fine. How about a compromise? You raise your prices up so that they're the same as mine. Then we'll let the clients decide who they want."

Percy leaned back, smiling crookedly. "Sure. Whatever you want. May the best man—or woman—win."

I smiled back. "Yep."

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot." He leaned in closer, and for a second I had the wild thought that he was going to kiss me. "Where are you staying? I mean, your house is blown up..."

I scowled, mentally slapping myself for not calling Liz. "With you, I guess...until I get enough money to stay in a hotel."

"Of course, you're going to need to pay rent." Percy's eyes were mischevious. "You know, unless you beg me very nicely."

I was about to snap back a retort, but a small gust of wind blew from seemingly nowhere. It smelled like strawberries and perfume. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.

Before I could think further about it, though, I smelt the scent of the sea. Percy had leaned in so close that the little gust of wind brought with it the smell of salt water, and countless memories from a lifetime ago.

_"Why do you always smell like the sea?" I question, my curiosity getting the best of me. Waves lap gently at my feet, and Percy has his arm wrapped around me, the two of us sitting together in the sand of the beach._

_Percy laughs, his green eyes twinkling. "I don't know, Annabeth. Maybe because I'm the son of the sea god? And you're supposed to be the smart one."_

_I snort, giving him a mock-punch. "I _am _the smart one, Seaweed Brain."_

_He grins. "Well, you know, because asking the son of the sea god why he smells like the sea just proves how smart you are."_

_"This stays between the two of us," I warn. But I'm smiling, nonetheless._

_"Okay, okay," he agrees. He leans in, bringing the smell of saltwater with him. "Just the two of us."_

"Em! What are you doing?"

I realized, with a sudden jolt, that my eyes were closed. I opened them slowly, and realized that I had been leaning forwards. Going to kiss Percy.

Oh Gods.

"Percy, I-"

"Em." Percy backed up a bit. "I'm sorry. I like you a lot, and you're a nice girl, but I have a girlfriend."

My head snapped up. "A girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

"Who?" The word came out sounding all wrong. Too sharp, snappy. Like I cared.

He looked hesitant for a moment, as if he wasn't sure whether or not he should tell me. He bit his lip, taking a slow breath. "Her name's Annabeth."


End file.
